Mangoes

 

Mangoes

අඹ

Mangifera zeylanica, or Sri Lanka wild mango, is a wild species of mango relative endemic to Ceylon. This stately tree is the tallest member of the mango genus, Mangifera and one of the two tallest trees in the family Anacardiaceae. The mango fruits are edible and have an excellent taste. It is called "aetamba" (ඇටඹ) or "wal amba" in Sinhala. Sri Lanka has over 50 varieties of mangoes, with popular types including the sweet Karuthakolomban (Jaffna mango), large purple-tinged Vellai Colomban, small fibrous Mee amba and modern commercial varieties like TJC, Willard, and Malwana. Other notable types include Gira amba, Betti amba  Atamba and Malvana.

Karuthakolomban:

Often considered the "King of Sri Lankan mangoes," this large, sweet and firm fleshed.

TJC:

A highly popular, modern commercial variety developed in 2003, known for having low fiber and high pulp content.

Vellai Colomban:

A large, sweet variety that develops a distinct purple colour when ripe.

Willard:

A highly favoured, small and juicy variety with a deep orange flesh.

Malwana:

A medium-sized, light green variety with a very sweet taste.

Mee Amba:

A very small, sweet variety known for its soft flesh, which is often eaten by sucking it through the skin.

Betti Amba:

Small, green, and tangy mangoes frequently used for achcharu (pickles).

Gira Amba:

A medium-sized variety known for its unique flavour.

Mangifera zeylanica (Atamba):

Vilad: 

A reddish-skinned, sweet mango.

These mangoes are famously used in Sri Lankan cuisine, particularly in curries, fresh fruit salads, and as roadside snacks (achcharu) prepared with salt, vinegar, and chili.

The botanical name more common mango is Mangifera indica.

While there are other species within the Mangifera genus,Mangifera indica is the primary species cultivated worldwide for its fruits.

 The mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical evergreen tree Mangifera indica, belonging to the Anacardiaceae family. Native to South Asia, it is known as the "king of fruits," cultivated worldwide for its sweet, fleshy fruit which varies in colour, size and shape. The tree is long lived, often growing up to 30 meters (100 feet). It is evergreen,  tall with dense canopy and dark glossy green leaves. It is  drupe (stone fruit) that is oval-elliptical, with yellow, green or red skin and yellow orange flesh. The flowers are small, fragrant, pinkish/cream-coloured clusters. It requires a tropical and subtropical climate while a dry, cool period is necessary for flowering. Primarily by grafting to ensure quality fruit, although they can grow from seed. Trees begin producing fruit within 2 to 4 years and some can live over 100 years.

Eaten fresh, in smoothies, or in processed foods like jams, juice, and chutney.

Mangoes are rich in ACE and Folic acid.

It can be eaten as fruit or as a curry if not ripe.

It has fiber and helps in digestion of food.

It is a fruit that can be recommended to pregnant mothers and child both.

The primary benefit, in addition to being a really good source of vitamin C, is that mangoes are      a decent source of vitamin A, folate and are pretty high in fiber, which is beneficial for colon cancer prevention, heart disease and weight control.

Banana Logic

Banana Logic 

 
I gave up banana watching few years ago when the price of a single banana (not a bunch) went up beyond my purse but kept on practicing Banana Logic to the core which I learned from the politicians of this Banana Republic.

It is a very simple logic.

Take no responsibility of the events and consequences and tame the masses with slippery excuses and logic.
Latest is the flood in Batti’coloa and the government’s inability to provide relief and not even believing that the masses are suffering untold hardships. Not only they slip the responsibility to weather gods but exaggerate the loss to the vegetation (not people) especially with very accurate number of paddy fields lost from air conditioned offices in Colombo without ever visiting the flood victims or the area under floods. They release statistics by the minute and they appear on Media and TV as Gullible Truths of the this century, which everybody knows even with aerial shot it is hard to estimate.

The devastation was more than the tsunami and it outlasted it by many weeks.
The tsunami was matter of hours but flood was a matter of weeks not days.
We of course capitalized on the political and economic fronts and the monetary benefit some got by promoting the disaster was fabulous to say the least.

Some by standers got rich leaps and bounds.

That is history.

But this time the paucity of the response and the inability to get even UNO involved was stark reminder that we cannot change the minds of the UNO officers trapped in glasshouses and in real frozen state to change their goals of undermining the underdogs in diplomacy since our antic delivering MPs spoiled soup of even the banana logic too much.

This essay is not on that banana logic spoiled by our own efforts and less said about it is better for our body politics which is in downward trend anyway.

This is about the mega bananas one sees in the supermarkets.

They are big and weight for weight expensive and I cannot believe that our soil has become rich in spite of overuse and the floods washing the top soil away.

I was very inquisitive in a scientific way.

It took few months to discover the truths that also did not come from the agrarian officers but from vendors.
It is a truth that one cannot harvest plantain vegetation for for than two years.
The soil gets absolutely drained off and one cannot grow anything else afterward.

In years gone by in Kandy bucket latrines were the vogue (now one has to pay 10 rupees for a piss in a city mall) the the contents of the buckets were loaded in Guhagoda (near Isolation Hospital) and covered with at least 4 feet of soil and were allowed to season out for 4 years and then leased out for growing banana.

The banana yield was the best in Kandy and they were of healthy size but not of the elephantine of today.

There is something amiss.

Not only they are big but the skin of the banana splits before ripening.
That is quite abnormal as if somebody has injected water (this can be done) under the skin.

My investigation reveal stark reality of that banana logic.

The bigger the size bigger the price and the economic weight.

What the growers do is that they inject UREA (contaminated with cadmium that causes kidney failure) into the flower stem to get them bigger.

Now I believe after the last UREA dose they even inject plain water dose to make them plump. With drug abusers are increasing in number in the country the thrown away plastic syringes are readily available anywhere including hospital dumps. I think even bizarre epidemics may emerge from eating these elephantine bananas. The water injected and the UREA injected are not sterilized.

They are raw contaminated water.

We were healthy eating bananas that came off nutritious from the nourishing off bucket latrines in Kandy yesteryear and not anymore.

My recommendation are
1. Do not pay for big bananas
2. If the skin is split do not buy them (sure sign of overdose)
3. Even supermarkets are suspicious of their dealing with the vendors
4. Buy a reputable product
5. Visit a banana plantation and see it for yourself
6. Taste before buying
7. Make pressure groups of customers
8. Invest on home garden
9. Invest on a bio-degrader container
10. Wash them thoroughly before eating (applies to all vegetables and fruits)
11. Do not put them in the fridge (many reasons including watching what happens to them)
12. Be vigilant
13. Do not buy cheap stuff (paw paw at 10 rupee/kg)
14. These are my observations and I can add many more but all of them are common sense practices.

In a country with chain of corrupt practices from grower to vender to super markets chains we are eating colossal amount of poisons everyday. The idea is to become rich and the poor customer is of no value to the Mudhalali and the Government (except just prior to an election).

90% of the fruits and vegetables are poisoned at various levels.

There is only perpetuation.

No remedy is available in sight or distant future.
It is only a money matter.

There is no controlling authority but corruption at all levels including food inspectors.

If one is eating poisons it is ones own responsibility and that is the the way the officials and government operate and look at the problem.

Good example is that government would not provide free medicine to drunkards (all of us are drunkards politically) and does not look at the root problem of drinking beahaviour.

If you look at the the liqueur bill of House of Parliament we can see where the root cause is.

This is somewhat similar to how we handled and handling ethnic issue.
There is absolutely no difference.

 

Ash Plantain - අලු කෙහෙල්

 

Ash Plantain

අලු කෙහෙල්

The botanical name is Musa paradisiaca.

Ash Plantain is a cooking variety of banana highly valued for its culinary and nutritional properties. It is a starchy cultivar often referred in Ceylon as Alu Kesel. The family is Musaceae. It is a hybrid, usually belonging to the AAB genome group, similar to other plantains, though it is specifically recognized for its cooking applications. The name "Ash" or "Grey" comes from the dusty, silvery grey coating on the surface of the green peel. Unlike dessert bananas, ash plantain is consumed when unripe as a vegetable.

I have eaten it when ripe but quite unlike regular banana and has a starchy flavour.

It has a firm, starchy and dense texture that makes it an excellent potato alternative. Common preparations include curries, stir fries and deep fried chips.Alu Kehel (also known as Ash Plantain or Cooking Banana) is a variety of plantain commonly used in Ceylon. It generally has a low to moderate glycemic index (GI), especially when consumed in its unripe, green stage.

It is rich in dietary fiber (high hemicellulose content), potassium, and vitamins A and C. It is known for its high nutritional value and low fat. In traditional medicine, it is used for managing high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney ailments.

When cooked with spices (like ginger, garlic, and onion), it is considered a potential dietary aid in managing putative reproductive health of erectile dysfunction and low sperm count.

Ash plantains are green, starchy fruits from the banana family used in savoury dishes, rich in dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, potassium and calcium. Key benefits include aiding digestion, supporting a healthy immune system, promoting heart health, contributing to bone strength and providing a low glycemic index alternative for individuals with diabetes.

Based on studies of banana varieties in Sri Lanka, Alu Kehel (Musa spp.) contains notable amounts of fat soluble vitamins, specifically Vitamin E (tocopherols) and Vitamin A.

Along with other Sri Lankan banana varieties like Puwalu and Kolikuttu, Alu Kehel contains α-linolenic, oleic, and other fatty acids that contribute to its Vitamin E profile. It is commonly consumed as a staple in Sri Lanka for its high fiber and mineral content rather than as a primary source of Vitamin E. Studies indicate that while Puwalu had the highest fat-soluble vitamins among the varieties tested, Alu Kehel still provides a nutritious dietary option. While studies confirm the presence of Vitamin E, specific numeric mg/100g values for Alu Kehel's Vitamin E content are not as widely published as its Vitamin C.

Ash plantains are a versatile ingredient, particularly in Sri Lankan cuisine, with a firm, starchy texture that makes them ideal for cooking. Common uses and ingredients found with ash plantain include:

Cooked in dishes with spices, coconut milk and other vegetables.

Can be fried into chips or incorporated into gluten-free baked products.

Peeled, sliced, dried, and ground into a powder for use as a gluten free alternative.

Health benefits of ash plantain includes:

The high dietary fiber content helps regulate the digestive tract and prevent constipation.

A good source of Vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system and acts as an antioxidant against free radical damage. Contains potassium, which helps regulate fluid levels and other minerals beneficial for cardiac protection, and blood pressure control.  Contains calcium, which is essential for building and maintaining strong bones. Vitamin A in ash plantain acts as an antioxidant, protecting against cellular damage and supporting healthy skin and vision.

Due to its slow digestion and low glycemic index, plantain can be a good food choice for managing blood sugar levels, especially for people with type 2 diabetes.

Contains B vitamins like B6 and B9 (folate), which help the body convert food into energy and support the growth of cells and tissues.